Admiral Segismundo Bermejo y Merelo (1832–1899) served as the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 Minister of the Navy during the first part of its war

Spanish-American War

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

 with the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In addition to his military career, Bermejo was a noted author, particularly of works of science fiction. Although he well knew the dangers to the Spanish fleet headed by his good friend Pascual Cervera y Topete

Pascual Cervera y Topete

Pascual Cervera y Topete served as an admiral of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron during the Spanish-American War, and prior to this served his country in a variety of military and political roles....

, he was forced by political circumstances to adopt a posture of unwarranted optimism. He ordered Cervera to sail for Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 to what Cervera and most of the navy considered would almost certainly result in a humiliating defeat for the underprepared and inadequate force. Further, he was equally optimistic about Spain's ability to repel the U.S. threat to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Once word of Commodore George Dewey

George Dewey

George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...

's rout of Admiral Montojo's fleet on May 1 at the Battle of Manila Bay reached the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, Spanish officials there panicked. Popular riots in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

ultimately forced the removal of Bermejo from office two weeks later on May 16, 1898.